Family Ties
by Audrey2419
Summary: Nate ponders the meaning of family. This was written for the Fan Fiction Critique Group's Challenge #10.


This is my first Leverage fic. It was written for the Fan Fiction Critique Group's Challenge #10. Hope it's not too rough. Please enjoy...

Here are the rules of the Challenge:

1. Must include the phrase: "Heroes. Giants. Villians. Wizards. True Love. Not just your typical, average, everyday, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, ho hum, fairy tale." Or the phrase: "You don't belong here."  
2. Must be any one of the following: Angst, Romance, Humor, Songfic, or Horror.  
3. Must involve the presence of one of the following: Michael Symon, Cher, John Ritter, or LLK. (Choose wisely!)  
4. Must be a minimum rating of K and a max rating of M.  
5. No more 1,500 or less than 750.

Family Ties

"_Eliot, you and I are not friends."_

"_Right, 'cause you have so many." – The Nigerian Job_

Nathan Ford could remember many 'firsts' in his life. He could remember the first time he had sex, the first recovery he made for his company, the first time he met his wife, and the first word his son said, but he couldn't remember the first time he actually considered the man lying wounded in the hospital bed his friend. Eliot, like his counterparts, had inched his way in past Nate's defenses until he saw his small crew as a makeshift, albeit dysfunctional, family.

The job had been simple enough; it was just bad luck that one of the guards had recognized Sophie from a con several years prior. Eliot had seen the crash coming and had managed to hustle both Sophie and Nate himself out the door just before they were overrun with security guards.

They heard the fight begin through their coms, and Eliot was holding his own until the sharp sound of a gunshot rang out through the night air. The silence that followed was deafening, but finally Eliot had staggered out through the doors and into the street. Nate had been the first to reach him and, half dragging the hitter, had pulled him to the van.

Hardison, made speechless by the blood pouring from the chest wound, had leapt into the driver's seat to rush their injured teammate to the hospital.

Four hours later here they all sat in the dark hospital room; the drone of the television low. Parker had found some sit-com rerun and, with Hardison sitting by her side, was currently giggling at the antics of John Ritter and that dumb blonde roommate as they tried to scheme their way out of yet another mess.

Eliot finally stirred, groaning as the pain hit. Nate reached over and pressed the button on the PCA unit to give some relief to the injured man. Eliot, his eyes glazed with a combination of medication and pain took a deep breath as the morphine hit his system and finally gave a gusty sigh of relief.

"Thanks." His voice was slurred as he spoke.

"You're welcome." Nate shifted his position in the chair beside the bed and gave Eliot a hard stare. "You don't belong in here. I don't know why or how you do what it is that you do, but thanks for getting us out of there."

Eliot mumbled something nonsensical and tried in vain to reach for the small cup of water sitting on the tray beside his bed. Sophie saw him miss the cup on the first try so she quickly walked over and picked it up, holding it steady so he could take a sip.

"Easy…not too much or you'll get sick." Her voice was low and smooth, the cultured tones like a balm to his aching head.

The water was cool and soothing to his parched throat, and he swallowed the liquid gratefully. Once he had taken a small amount, Eliot allowed his head drop back to the pillow and closed his eyes. The fatigue and pain medications were wearing him down to nothing; all of his defenses were gone at this moment as he fought against the pain.

Eliot finally drifted off to sleep, and Nathan sat in his chair silently assessing each member of his crew. They were all liars and thieves, but he suddenly realized that he trusted them all. They had each proven to have their own personal version of morality and it shocked him to realize that they had made his life a bit fuller.

When the job had gone bad they could have each run away, but they had stayed to make sure that Eliot had gotten out safely. They had risked their own personal security to ensure that he got medical attention, and they were all keeping a nearly silent vigil as he awakened from the surgery that had saved his life. His crew of five individuals had somehow become a tight knit group, a family of sorts.

Eliot would have a long road to recovery ahead of him, but Nate knew that he would be fine…eventually. He would have Sophie and Parker around, and they would force him, under threat of death, to follow the doctor's instructions. Hardison would ensure that he survived his convalescence by keeping him from getting too bored. Finally, Eliot would have Nate himself to ride herd on the others to make sure they didn't drive Eliot to homicide before he recovered enough to take care of himself.

Nate smiled to himself and closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep. He wasn't alone anymore and neither was his team. They had him and each other.


End file.
